IDW #57: Bio-Mechanical Tattoo Gun

Topic: Bio-Mechanical Tattoo Gun

Background: Took this one out the topic suggestion thread. Originally suggested by Michamachtlos and bumped by Lege1. It's another small ID item that requires some research and thinking. There are a couple of important things here:

First, the bio-mechanical part. Make sure this is visible in your final rendering. It is okay to use an organism to inject the ink for example, but when you do, make sure it is incorporated in your design. Make a visible link in form or style that connects the organic part with the mechanical part.

Second, the tattoo itself. There are many ways to make a tattoo (needle, bamboo pen, I even allow scarification if you really want to). It might be good though to think of the future of tattoos as well. For example, digital tattoos, tattoos that change with mood, genetic tattoos, whatever.

In this topic, the initial idea should count as much as the final rendering. This does not mean that the final rendering of your idea doesn't have to be top notch.

Brief:
1. Design and draw a Bio-Mechanical Tattoo Gun.
2. Make sure there is a visible link between the bionical part and the technical part.
3. Think about alternetive ways of making a tattoo!
4. That's it... now draw!

Deadline: Saturday January 19 2008 (I close it the same time as the last one)

I'm not sure if I closed all the loopholes in this topic, so if there are questions or remarks please say so.

On a different note, I would like the quality of this activity to get better with every round so if there are any suggestion to achieve this, say so (but do it in the discussion thread please ). Don't get me wrong, I'm happy with the way things are going right now, but not every round seems to have the same level of quality. Also, we're not yet up to par with COW or CHOW, while I see no reason not to go for something close to that. On the other hand, I don't want to play the bully by denying everything that doesn't look perfect or something. Should we have more tutorials, links to sites with good examples or anything else you want to see?

I remember seeing this topic suggested. It's a pretty interesting one, I'll see if I can get something done here for this. count me in for now.

About making suggestions for IDW, I'll post something in that thread

Update- Wip's and sketches

final

The Mind Image Tattoo gun currently is a item that can only be found in the black market. A lot of controversial aspects surround this tattoo gun, likely because it is the first created bio mechanical tattoo gun created. This tattoo gun uses a rare parasite specimen that is capable of latching onto a head of a other species to establish a up link and connect with other minds to feed on mental imagery. Usually these parasites are not harmful however. This tattoo gun is infused with this parasite. The purpose of this crazy idea is this, by connecting to the tattoo gun and then the brain of a human the parasite will project any imagery that person thinks. Say for instance you thought of this crazy tattoo design you want on your arm. Just imagine the design and where it is located and the parasite will feed on that image then then through a little wiring and state of the art technology that image will be shot over to the tattoo gun. From there the mechanically controlled tattoo gun will create the image perfectly onto the arm or any other part of the body.

The parasite itself leaves hardly any imprint to the head however the idea of having any parasite connect to ones head spooks many understandably. Chances of it reaching the mainstream market are still slim. It could highly impact many tattoo artist's in a negative way as well.

Well, have not got that much time to finish this between uni work and Last Man Standing, so far only managed a quick scribble. Will be much more focussed on the actual design of the gun interwoven with his muscle structure and maybe change the hunch back to sorta hold a giant ink sack. He doesont have sturdy fingers like us humans, so cant really hold a tattoo gun all that well, thats why he made the implant...yes, he is that devoted to his work!

Well I believe this is my first time posting in IDW. I remember seeing "no wips allowed" in the submission guidelines, but does that just mean for your finished entry, or are we not allowed to show our progress, or get feedback on sketches? Well I may get reprimanded for this, but heres my initial sketch.

c&c welcome.

Some see the glass half full. Others see it half empty. I just try to see the glass!

I had some fun, got to work on this. I'm sure I could finish it off alot more, but I am still getting used to using painterX.link was deleted

Basic premise: A tattoo gun that is mechanically fused to a living octopus. The gun needs to be plugged into a power source, and the machine filters pigments out of the various body fluids of the pus. When the fluids are mixed with the ink, drawn through the mask on its face, the colors become bold and permanent. The tattooing needle has a small suction tube that is used to nourish the animal the tattooee's blood, while it's brain fluids keep the internal motors and gears lubricated. The tentacles are wrapped around and tucked into the main housing, as they serve as a fine non-slip grip. The average life-span of the animal-machine hybrid is around 6 months, and once fused, the machine can never be separated from the octopus.

Last edited by ZebraHDH; January 19th, 2008 at 06:50 AM.

There's a hole... there's a hole... there's a hole in the bottom of the sea.

Thanks Yoitisi. I hear you about the quality of the rounds! Hopefully this is somewhat up to par.

The T 100, the tattoo artist's little buddy. This amazing tool was created for the soul purpose to help the tattoo artist in their productivity. Due to more people desiring body art and more willing to conform to what everybody else is doing; the T 100 has become an important piece in the tattoo artist's arsenal. It can do nearly everything a human tattoo artist can, such as tracing lines and coloring within them.

Last edited by darkly; January 18th, 2008 at 04:06 PM.

Some see the glass half full. Others see it half empty. I just try to see the glass!

Trashy: I like it already The 'ink' coming out of it is really cool, reminds me of some 60's posters and drawings.

ZebraHDH: I'm afraid yours needs some more work before I take it to poll. The inital start is good, but lose those messy lines please. Also, there's some weird cross hatching and texturing going on that makes it look unfinished.

Natedogler: Looking good I agree with Legato, try to tone down the background a bit as it really distracts from the Tattoo gun itself.

C0mBineD: Yours needs some more love before I take it to poll. Tighten the composition a bit, as you've got oceans of space all around your gun that doesn't really add anything to the overall piece. The shapes of the gun itself needs some more integration with each other, as well as some more detailing. Good start though, I like the idea of the brain in the fluid.

Lege1: Not much to critique yet, just finish it. Looks damn scarry for a Tattoo gun actually

yoitisi-Thanks, I know its messy looking atm, and thanks for the advice. Don't worry about me making it to the poll. Right now I am just trying to get back into the swing of drawing regularly. The other half of it, is using painterx instead of photoshop. I would have had a much cleaner painting if I used ps, but what can ya do, I still dont knpow where anything is.

Thanks for the topic and activity. I hope one day soon i will be able to get some better quality submitted.

There's a hole... there's a hole... there's a hole in the bottom of the sea.

Nirudafat: I've got no real objection against a photo, just make sure you get a good picture of it. Otherwise you might not have a chance in the poll just because it was a badly taken picture.

C0mBineD: It is already an improvement, but overall it still lacks shape. Try to find reference for the glass part by looking at pictures of bottles for example and implement what you see. The texture is nice but simply doesn't help to punch out the shape.

Well due to popular demand I tweaked the background a bit on my piece. One thing the kind of sucks though is that whenever I upload an image from Photoshop it always loses some color from the original file. Any help?

Some see the glass half full. Others see it half empty. I just try to see the glass!

Yoitisi: I am trying to finish up things last minute here. I've had to cater to school and have been swamped in Algebra, doin 10 minute equations that end up equalling zero, gotta love it. Anyway, what time are you closing this thread today? I've been up all night studying and I am going to get a few hours of sleep and get up and work on my Bio Tat baby. I am trying to figure out if I do or don't have time to finish this one.

PutridusCor: Dope concept and illustration! There's something about this that reminds me of Mother Brain from the classic Nintendo hit "Metroid."

this is ma biomech tattoo gun....im new to this...do i post ma final work and someone decides if it goes to the final or do i have to post it in some other thread.....
and is the clarity of the drawing adequate for teh final...the drawing is quite small compared to what the other guys post....its abt 1/2 A4 size pic....